Some students at Timberline Secondary School are trying to make kindness purposeful.
Led by teacher and career counsellor Jeff Lontayao, the school's BRIDGE program students have started an initiative called the P.A.O.K. Project (Purposeful Act of Kindness), which looks to bring the students and community businesses together to provide essential resources to Campbell River's most vulnerable populations.
The BRIDGE program is for students who are disconnected from school, whether through mental health or just a lack of passion for school. Lontayao uses the program to help them learn in a different way, giving the students a voice to see what they want to get out of their education and the best way to deliver it.
"Part of my thing is I wanted to make sure they realize the ecology of care, meaning they care for themselves, others, and the greater good. And this is our initiative for the greater good," said Lontayao. "So we wanted to help the less fortunate and help people who have challenges. Right now, we are focusing on people who have lived experiences out on the streets."
To make this possible, students and Lontayao drafted a letter to send to businesses to get support and donations, such as gift cards, non-perishable food items, bread, sandwiches, meats, water bottles, women's sanitary supplies, dental and personal hygiene items and more.
"What I'm really stressing with my students is that this should not be a one-off thing. Kindness is not a one-off thing. My main thing is for them to learn kindness but also empathy. This is my way of teaching them empathy," said Lantayao.
The students involved in the project are from grade 10 to 12, and there are about 15 students.
Some of the businesses and organizations that have agreed to help are the Timberline Village and the Tyee Plaza Shoppers Drug Marts, Quality Foods, Save-on-Foods, Superstore, Kwesa Place Warming Centre & Shelter Manager Shawn Decaire, and Laichwiltach Family Life Society.
The students will put together around 30 to 40 bags full of items for the unhoused community. They will be delivered to members of the community at Kwesa Place.
"What we wanted to do was make sure the kids are safe and comfortable in handing them (the bags) out to people who need them, so we partnered with Kwesa Place... what we're going to do is have a table there and have the people in their (unhoused) community come in a receive their gifts."
Lontayao says there will be more projects to come in 2025.
